Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

News

Stewardship

Discrimination, Harassment and Duty to Accommodate Policy

Since 2012, the University of Alberta’s Discrimination, Harassment and Duty to Accommodate Policy has helped foster a respectful work environment that supports dignity and equity for all members of the university community. The policy prohibits all discrimination or harassment and commits to the duty to accommodate individuals based on protected grounds.

Alberta’s Employment Standards Act

The University of Alberta adheres to the province of Alberta's Employment Standard Rules, which outlines laws against child labour, forced labour and modern slavery. Similarly, the University of Alberta supports the Government of Alberta’s Human Trafficking Action Plan, which aims to combat human trafficking and protect at-risk individuals from being trafficked in Alberta. The university also supports the Government of Canada’s National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. 

No Forced Labour, Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking, and Child Labour

The University of Alberta is committed to no forced labour, no modern slavery, no human trafficking and no child labour in accordance with Canadian Trafficking Legislation and the Government of Alberta Human Trafficking Action Plan.

Duty of Fair Representation

The Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA) and the Association of Academic Staff of the University of Alberta (AASUA) represent non-academic and academic staff, respectively, at the University of Alberta, providing fair representation for staff in accordance with the Alberta Labour Relations Board. 

Office of Safe Disclosure and Human Rights

The University of Alberta is committed to providing a safe work, study and living environment for all staff, students, faculty and members of our volunteer community. To ensure the university meets this commitment, the university created the Office of Safe Disclosure and Human Rights (OSDHR) to support students, faculty and staff at the University of Alberta. The Office provides a confidential, neutral and safe space for members of the university community to speak in confidence about concerns including, but not limited to: discrimination and harassment, ethical concerns, health and safety violations, financial mismanagement, and other concerns (wrongdoing/misconduct).

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Outreach

Adaptation Resilience Training

Each year, the Adaptation Resilience Training program provides 30+ recent graduates from across Alberta with an eight month, paid internship working to prepare Alberta for the impacts of climate change. This program gives recent students workplace experience that will help them continue to work in the climate adaptation field.

Career Integrated Learning

Career integrated learning helps faculty members identify the employability skills that are practiced in their courses. Faculty members add a “skills” section to their syllabuses, helping to increase students’ awareness of the sought-after competencies taught in their courses. Career integrated learning does not require faculty members to change their course curriculums; rather, it works with existing curricula to identify the skills practiced. Through presentations by the Career Centre and an end-of-term reflective activity, students become more aware of their employability skills.

Arts Work Experience

Arts Work Experience (AWE) is an accredited co-operative education program offering career-advancing, paid work experience to undergrads in the Faculty of Arts. AWE is flexible, with many program options allowing students to complete four, eight, 12 or 16 months of work with one of over 200 employer partners in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

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Research

🔗 First to $15: Alberta's Minimum Wage Policy on Employment by Wages, Ages, and Places

Alberta is the first North American state or province with a $15 minimum wage, with an unexpectedly large increase (47 per cent) over a short time span (three years). The employment effects of this policy are estimated using a synthetic control approach on Labour Force Survey data.

🔗 LinkedIn(to) Job Opportunities: Experimental Evidence from Job Readiness Training

Online professional networking platforms are widely used and offer the prospect of alleviating labor market frictions. This study finds that training work seekers on how to use networking platforms increases employment at the end of the program from 70 to 77 per cent, and this effect persists for at least twelve months.

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Notable Stories

🔗 U of A graduates rank among most employable in the world

Strong partnerships with employers bolster university’s position among top 100 globally and top five in Canada, according to latest QS rankings. 

🔗 University of Alberta and Brass Dome Ventures Ltd. launch imYEG accelerator to increase commercialization of research-driven innovations

New industry-led accelerator will address and overcome the earliest barriers faced by researchers just starting on the path to commercialization.